Knights to meet Roosters in NRL grand final – who will win the Clive Churchill Medal?

From Last Place to the Decider

On Sunday, the Sydney Roosters will face the Newcastle Knights in the 2026 NRL grand final. According to Nine.com.au, the Knights are the first NRL team in 16 years to go from finishing last on the ladder to reaching the grand final the following season — Newcastle won last year's wooden spoon. The only other team to do so in that period was the Roosters themselves in 2010, under coach Brian Smith, though they went on to lose that decider to Wayne Bennett's St George Illawarra Dragons.

Along the way, the Knights overcame significant setbacks. The squad was missing several key players for parts of the season, including Dylan Brown (on a reported $1.3 million salary), Jacob Saifiti and Trey Mooney — representing more than $2.5 million in missing salary cap space, according to Newcastle great Andrew Johns. Young players such as Cody Hopwood and Lachlan Crouch stepped up in their absence.

In the preliminary final against Penrith, the Knights were reduced to 12 men on the field after Phoenix Crossland was sent off, yet the Panthers failed to score in the second half, and two tries from Sandon Smith sealed what some commentators called one of the best finals they have seen. Johns singled out a tackle by Knights captain and fullback Kalyn Ponga on Panthers forward Moses Leota — stopping him with a shoulder despite Leota's weight and momentum advantage — as the moment that best captured the team's turnaround.

Clive Churchill Medal contenders

Nine.com.au's panel of experts has named several contenders for the Clive Churchill Medal, awarded to the best player on the field in the grand final. Sam Walker was backed by several panellists (David Middleton, Mathew Thompson, Ben Glover), James Tedesco by Brad Fittler and Paul Gallen, while Andrew Johns tipped Kalyn Ponga, who already won the Dally M Medal in 2023. Lindsay Collins, Mark Nawaqanitawase and Fletcher Sharpe were also mentioned as possible winners.

The Roosters' build-up

As reported by smh.com.au, the Roosters recruited veteran halfback Daly Cherry-Evans this season after 15 seasons at Manly. Club figures were reportedly motivated largely by wanting to help captain James Tedesco win a third premiership, after titles in 2018 and 2019. Tedesco said Cherry-Evans brought big-game experience and has also helped develop rising playmaker Sam Walker. Coach Trent Robinson, as Brad Fittler noted, is contesting his third grand final with the club and has won both previous deciders.